Arcana, a young girl with white hair and blue tattoos, awoke one early morning with a stretch and a smile. She went to her window and was surprised to find that it was hard to look out of. It was as if someone had come and covered it in a strange, white, translucent foam. It then occurred to her that her room was colder than normal. Awed by the foam on the window she wiped her hand over it and found the window become clearer, and the world outside appeared to be covered in a white blanket.
Surprised by all the white, Arcana ran to her host, the man she was staying with until she could learn to live out on her own. "Drake! Drake!" she called, running down stairs to his room, which was his living room. "Drake! There's something wrong with outside!"
The boy fell off the couch, "ouch... what do you mean?"
"There's a strange white blanket outside!"
Drake just looked at her confused, and then went to a window. When he saw what she was talking about he just laughed. "Arcana, that's called snow. It's frozen water that fell from the sky, and covered the ground."
The girl looked at him confused, "Frozen water that fell from the sky? First you tell me about rain, now you can tell me ice falls too?"
"Yes, of course it does," Drake smiled, "It's cold enough outside to where it can freeze the water." He patted her and looked at the calender. "Actually, it's gotten so cold because in a couple days a very important holiday will be here."
"A holiday? What one?" the girl asked.
"A holiday called Christmas," Drake responded, "Christmas is a holiday of great joy and giving. It's a holiday that Christians celebrate. It's a holiday where families gather together, friends spend time together, everyone treats others with kindness, and on the day of Christmas, people exchange gifts, and Children can't wait to see what Santa brought them."
Arcana was just in awe at what he was telling her. "Who is Santa?"
Drake smiled, "Santa is a man who travels the globe, giving presents to everyone who was good all year. Anyone who was naughty, however, gets a lump of coal."
"Naughty? I-I want presents, have I been good?" the girl was genuinely worried.
Drake did nothing but laugh and nod in response. "Yes, now, dress in something warm. We're going out and getting a tree."
After getting an explanation about why they were getting a tree and why they were going to decorate the house, they were on their way to find a good evergreen tree. Arcana, dressed in a white sweater and jeans, tried her best to help Drake choose a good tree. They found a nice, fat, green tree to take home. They bought the tree, loaded it up, and took it home. Drake set it up, Arcana having no idea what to do. She was still figuring out what this whole holiday was. She had come from a place where they didn't have snow, or cold, or Christmas. However, the whole idea was a wonder to her, she was loving it.
She watched as her host went to a closet and pulled out a box. As he opened the box it was revealed to her many different trinkets that showed sparkle, shine, and gleam. There were rope like things that glimmered and sparkled. There were little trinkets that resembled toys with little strings attached to them. Some resembled what Drake described to be Santa. Others were shaped like stars, wrapped boxes, and many assortment of things. Drake explained to her that they decorate the tree with all of these decorations, as well as little lights on strings, which he pulled out of a separate box from the closet. He explained to her how they twist the lights around the tree, and she helped him the best she could. Once it was all wrapped around Drake plugged in the lights, and Arcana was surprised to see the entire tree light up with color.
"It's so beautiful," she said quietly, as she stared at the tree. Drake smiled and handed her the end of the tinsel.
"Here," he spoke softly, "We twist this around just like we did the lights. Wanna help me?"
Arcana couldn't refuse. She smiled and helped him wrap the blue tinsel around the tree with him. Once that was finished, Drake handed her a couple of ornaments and began hanging his own on the tree. They worked together to hang every last ornament on the tree, both of them having a wonderful time just spending their time together, creating something beautiful.
Once every last ornament was on the tree, Drake pulled out the final touch. "Now, we put on the tree topper," he smiled as he pulled out a beautiful star. Arcana could only smile at it. Once the man placed it at the top, he plugged it in and it lit up almost the entire room. The star was gorgeous, Arcana thought the tree didn't need anything but the star.
Drake could see her fascination and could think to do nothing but hug her. Arcana smiled, feeling very at home in his arms.
The next day Arcana awoke and went down stairs to find the tree still standing, still beautiful, even if it wasn't lit up at the time. What disappointed her was the fact that Drake wasn't sleeping on the couch where he should have been. In fact, he was no where to be found in the house. She began to be worried, what could have happened to him? She was frantically looking for him around the house when she heard the door shut. She turned to see Drake walking into the house, holding a rather large bag. He seemed to try to hide it and smiled as he went to the closet.
"What's that?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, nothing," Drake replied as he shoved the bag into the closet. Everything was very suspicious, but Arcana had learned to respect people's privacy, so she let it alone.
Finally Christmas had come, and before Arcana could even wake up, Drake was in her room. She woke up to find him sitting next to her bed holding a wrapped box. "Marry Christmas," he said softly. He handed her the box. "Go on, open it." Arcana just looked at him, taking the box. She began to unwrap it, opened the box, and inside she found a nice, white, brand new scarf. Scarves were probably her most favorite accessory since she had come to Drake's world. She smiled, pulling it out, and wrapping it around her neck. "Now come downstairs," Drake started as he held out a hand, "Lets see if Santa visited us."
Arcana smiled, taking the man's hand. He led her downstairs to the tree, which had a little bit added to it. A couple of presents were placed under the three. Arcana smiled, rushing to the tree. She sat down and then stopped. She looked up to Drake.
"You know, I don't really need these presents," she said with a smile. Drake looked at her with concern, "Because, I realized, ever since we got this tree, that, the only present I need, is you." Drake could only smile. Nothing more was said, the two of them only sat next to each other as they held each other.
